1. GOLDEN RULE: If you are using a 3G iPhone with yellowsn0w and rely on yellowsn0w to obtain cellular service, then you should NOT use redsn0w right now. Ultrasn0w (the 3G carrier unlock) is not included with this release and therefore your baseband will be locked and unable to use an operator other than the official one it was bought for. UltraSn0w will be released via APT (cydia and icy) soon. If you have an original iPhone (1st generation) then 3.0 carrier unlock works with this redsn0w release.
2. Yellowsn0w in its current form will NOT work with the baseband version that is present in the 3.0 update, you will need Ultrasn0w, which will be released sometime soon, Ultrasn0w will work with all iPhone 3G models (but not 3GS), even ones that were previously unlockable, Ultrasn0w (when available) will be released via APT (this means you will be able to get it via Cydia or Icy).
3. Please read all parts of this post before downloading and using these tools.
4. Read items 1, 2 and 3 again and again.
5. At the bottom of this post are the bittorrent files for the latest version of redsn0w.
6. This app is suitable for the recent 3.0 release
7. redsn0w will NOT work for the iPhone 3GS.
8. redsn0w WILL work for Original iPhone (1st Generation), Original iPod touch, iPod touch 2G and the iPhone 3G (not the iPhone 3GS).

To use redsn0w simply upgrade the device in iTunes to firmware version 3.0 and run redsn0w to activate and jailbreak the device (and if you are using an original iPhone 2G, it will unlock it too!)

I will also provide the redsn0w app for mac and windows here:

• Mac
• Windows

Jailbreaking worth it or not?

So what is the big deal with jailbreaking? Well iPhone firmware 3.0 has added a ton of new functionality to the iPhone that we have been waiting for forever, but there are still things missing. Apple blocks us from doing many things, background running applications, custom themes/icons, apps that they deem unworthy, etc. With a jailbroken iPhone you can use all of the apple features while also being able to use really nice apps that can be run in the background while you are doing something else. The custom themes are pretty cool too, since you can change your keypad, keyboard, safari, every app can be changed and icons can also be changed.

The one app that comes to mind for me when deciding whether or not to jailbreak my phone is Notify (well I think that is what it is called).  This app would add an email, text, or missed call icon to your taskbar (where the clock is) whenever you received one of those items. Why was this great? I didn’t have to take my phone out unlock it and see what icon had a number in the corner, which would then make me check it since I already had it all out. With the icons you can see what you have and just check it when it is more convenient.

The custom themes are also pretty cool since they are all free and can be customized to use parts from one theme or another.

Whether you would like to break free of the apple chains and be able to use your phone the way you want, or you just want a few extras here and there, jailbreaking has become incredibly easy to do and well worth the effort in my opinion.

For those people who do not want to jailbreak, well more power to you and your limited phone. Also, the new redsn0w unlocks your phone, allowing you to switch to any GSM (they use SIM cards) based provider.